2 deaths overshadow end of Chess Olympiad

STOCKHOLM (AP) — A major international chess tournament in northern Norway ended on a grim note, with one player dying in the middle of a game and another found dead in a hotel room, organizers said Friday.

A 67-year-old member of the Seychelles team collapsed and died during the final round Thursday of the two-week Chess Olympiad in Tromsoe, tournament spokesman Jarle Heitmann said.

Another player, from Uzbekistan, was found dead in a hotel room later Thursday, Heitmann said.

He said both died of natural causes. Tromsoe police said on Twitter there was “no crime” suspected in either case.

Heitmann said there was a brief moment of panic as emergency workers rushed to attend to the Seychelles player, as some participants apparently mistook their defibrillator for a gun and fled toward the exits.

The Seychelles News Agency identified the player as Kurt Meier, a Swiss-born member of the small island nation’s chess team. It said he died during a game against Rwanda.